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Last updated on Tuesday, December 23, 2014
(BLOOMFIELD) - The Greene County Sheriff’s Department is warning residents to be aware of a telephone scam involving the Internal Revenue Service.
According to a written press release, senior citizens, retirees, individuals with past IRS issues and individuals on a fixed income such as Social Security and disability have been targeted across not only the United States but Canada as well.
Phone scammers are contacting their victims stating they represent the Internal Revenue Service or the U.S. Department of the Treasury. They inform victims they owe back taxes or are subject to a monetary penalty from a previous year.
The scammer provides a case number and advises victims to call back immediately before the local authorities are contacted or a warrant is issued for their arrest. In some instances scammers have been known to suggest victims could lose their homes.
The IRS or the U.S. Treasury will never initiate contact via the telephone or email. Correspondence through the U.S. Mail will occur first.
The IRS will never ask for a credit, debit, prepaid card or any bank information over the phone.
Would-be victims need to be aware that scammers may know the last four digits of their intended target's social security number. Those receiving the calls should listen for background noise that would suggest a call center site.
If you are contacted by these scammers you are asked to report it to the IRS through their official website www.irs.gov.
If you know you owe taxes or think you may owe taxes, residents are asked to call the Internal Revenue Service at (800) 829-1040. If you know you don't owe taxes or have no reason to think you do owe taxes (never receiving a bill, for example) call and report the incident to the Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration at (800) 366-4484.
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